VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
ARCHIVE OF THE OFFICIAL SITE
OF THE 2008-2012 PRIME MINISTER
OF THE RUSSIAN FEDERATION
VLADIMIR PUTIN
“Traditionally Russia has had a large foreign trade surplus: at the end of 2009 it will be about $100 billion. Foreign investment is flowing in, the national currency, the rouble, is growing stronger and our sovereign wealth fund has now reached more than $447 billion.”
“Positive trends are apparent in Russia too. Since June 2009 the GDP has been growing month on month and investment demand and retail trade have been gradually recovering. The macro-economic situation remains stable, inflation in the country is set to be at one of its lowest rates since 1992, certainly under 10%, and I think it my be 9%.”
"The economy has been growing in the past five months. The growth is modest, an average of 0.5% a month, and some months even lower, 0.3%. Some months the economy grew by 0.8%, but on average the economy has been growing by 0.5% for the past five months. I very much hope that these positive figures will grow by the middle of next year."
"We are restoring our gold and currency reserves. Today they are the third largest in the world after the People's Republic of China and Japan and amount to $444 billion. We have a trade surplus, and we will probably have the best indicator in this area. We have a positive trade balance, probably the best figure. We did well in 2006, and the inflation rate is likely to be lower this year. It will be lower than 10% this year, probably even one-digit figure, around 9%. This means that we have coped with these problems."
"We see the average wage falling; it is down 3.6%. Why? Because the fall in the commercial sector was considerable, 5.6%, I think. The influence on the public sector became evident in 2009 because the wage fund in the sector was increased in December 2008, and so wages in that sector increased by 4.1%. We have increased pensions considerably, by 13%-14%."
"In the sectors that the Government considers to be its direct sphere of responsibility the situation is more or less acceptable. For instance, industry, as I said, is expected to contract by 13%, but the defence industry will grow by 3.7%. And in some areas, for example in aerospace, they have many problems too and we were recently looking at this industry - but they have a growth of 13%."
"What has been done during this difficult year, I would say, first, that it was one of the most difficult years in the past decade - not only for us, but for the world economy in general. These events have hit us hard. We had predicted (though no official forecasts were made), some experts believed that GDP in Russia would drop by about 10%. It has dropped significantly, but not as much as some experts had thought. It is likely to be 8.5-8.7%. That is a lot."
"In the second half of this year, our economy has started growing again; inflation is going down, and unemployment is gradually decreasing. This does not mean that anti-crisis measures are no longer necessary. Needless to say, we will continue encouraging the domestic demand, increasing the stability and reliability of the financial system, and taking measures to reduce the budget deficit and ensure macro-economic stability. Nevertheless, the tasks of strategic development are gradually moving to the fore. We are living in different economic conditions, and this reality is very important."
"I would like to say at the beginning of our meeting today that the Russian Government and the Central Bank of Russia maintained the stability of the country's banking system amid the global financial downturn and protected the national currency from dramatic fluctuations that can be so painful for people and for companies."
"The scope, essence and timeframe for administrative procedures must be clearly outlined, and the principles for setting prices for government services must be established. It is necessary to continue to foster administrative reform, abolish the state's unnecessary powers, minimise the number of inspections, and switch from the practice of giving authorisation to providing recommendations."
“We consider privatisation to be one of the key tools in reforming the real economy, in improving the competitive environment and in attracting additional investment.”
"We must ensure that the post-crisis recovery of the Russian economy be accompanied by qualitative modernisation of its industrial base and infrastructure through the introduction of cutting-edge technologies and an increase in labour productivity."
"I also believe that we have no other option but to form a full-fledged and stable financial market of our own, where national savings will be converted into development capital - a source for so-called "long money." And this is yet another of our key goals."
"We call on businesses to more actively invest in Russia's regions. Do not stay in the same place, where there is often not enough "room" for everyone, but consider the regions that are not spoiled with overinvestment and where it is possible to take advantage of optimum business conditions."
"We are also pursuing a tight anti-inflation policy. Our goal here is to reduce the current inflation level almost by half (from the estimated 12% this year). I believe - I know - that Central Bank officials agree with these proposals: 11% on average by the end of this year, or even lower, and no more than 5%-7% by 2012."
"Russia is the only country that proceeded with a large-scale pension reform during the recession. The basic portion of labour pensions will be increased again by 30% later this year - on December 1. Next year, pensions will grow by an average of 46%, an unprecedented rise in Russia. Now what economic implications will this have? This reform will produce internal demand for an additional 1 trillion roubles, or over $30 billion."
"In line with the pension reform issues, we postponed an increase in corporate insurance premiums, so as not to worsen the fiscal burden on businesses during the recession. Admittedly, as a result - back to our macroeconomic problems - the 2009 federal budget will carry an 8% deficit for the first time in a decade."
"We have enough resources and opportunities to protect the country from new currency shocks, from shocks to the national currency and the financial system. Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves exceed $400 billion."
"We need to improve many things in legislation and corporate governance, and to modernise the structure of the real and financial sectors. But we do not need to reinvent the wheel. Russia's development strategy until 2020 and the guidelines of the Government's operation until 2012 outline the main directions for development, the main projects that should ensure qualitative changes in the Russian economy, and the innovative vector of its modernisation."
"I would like to say that we need not so much a quick, as a qualitative recovery. Our recovery should be based on fundamentally new precepts, with reliance on new growth parameters."
